ANA order spree

ANA order spree

ANA has given Boeing a much-needed fillip in the Japanese market, ordering a slew of widebodies, including 20 7779X aircraft, 14 787-9s and six 777-300ERs.

The carrier did, however, opt for Airbus for the narrowbody component of its order, selecting 30 A320neo family aircraft, of which 21 will be A321neos and the remainder A320neos.

There was speculation that ANA was going to follow arch competitor JAL, which rocked the cosy relationship between Boeing and Japan with a breakthrough order for 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s, plus 25 options, in October last year.

ANA instead appear to have used this to their advantage. “Both aircraft makers were very aggressive in their sales pitches,” ANA President Shinichiro Ito was quoted a saying. “That helped us secure even better conditions.”

ANA will take delivery of its first 777X in 2021, two years after JAL takes its first A350 – if all goes to schedule. ANA was launch customer for the much delayed 787 programme – it’s not clear whether the deal factored in any compensation payments.

The 777Xs will be powered by GE9X engines, while the 777-300ERs are powered by GE90-115B powerplants. Rolls-Royce will supply its Trent 1000 engines for the 787-9 (as it does for the existing ANA 787-8 fleet), while Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan was chosen for the A320neo family order.